Sleigh Ride
by OverThexM00N
Summary: [PreRent] The Bohemians take a winter vacation at Collins's cabin in Massachusetts, but disaster strikes when Roger and April go sledding. [OneShot]


**Disclaimer: **I might not own them, but I can still make them do whatever I want.

**Author's Note:** A balance of mild fluff and slight angst. And I was worried that Balto would be an anachronism, since the movie was made around 1995, but then I remembered that the story of Balto was in existence long before that, so yeah. That is all.

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"ROGER!" April wheezed, attempting to make it over another small mound of snow-covered earth, then adding jokingly: "I don't have to stay in this abusive relationship!"

A blase Roger slowly opened an eye, gazing boredly at April as she heaved forward, moving the sled a grand total of three inches. "It's only fair. I pulled you for ten minutes, you pulled me for ten minutes, I pulled you for twenty, now _you _pull _me _for twenty. Even though I've been much more generous, since you've barely moved me in the time allotted."

April groaned, starting to wish she hadn't come. Collins had decided to bring everyone to his cabin in Massachusetts as a sort of vacation. However, it wasn't much of a vacation; it was the peak of winter and it seemed to be much colder in Massachusetts than New York. Collins just laughed when they walked into the cabin only to find that it was somehow a few degrees colder inside than outside. "Well, this'll make ya appreciate the loft more."

Roger and April found the cabin to be boring, and since Benny was on a business trip, Roger had no one to pick a fight with. There was always Mark, but he was too busy with his camera, filming icicles that seemed they would never melt and the occasional woodland creature that would venture out of its home in the trees to peer into their window. Maureen had also come along, but she had developed motion sickness during the four-hour car ride and was now occupying the sole outhouse behind the cabin. And Collins was elsewhere, with business in Massachusetts that didn't concern his roommates.

Collins had prepared them well for their trip; he had been gracious enough to go to the nearest dollar store a purchase a cheap plastic sled for their amusement, as well as a couple packets of hot cocoa mix and bags of marshmallows and popcorn. Roger and April eventually decided to revert back to their childhood instincts and go sledding. Problem was, there weren't any hills around the cabins; just flat, barren woodland. So they took turns pulling each other, almost like sled dogs in Alaska, through the forest paths.

Now, as April began to tune Roger's voice out, she focused on putting all her concentration into moving the sled over the bump without slipping and falling face-flat in the snow like she had earlier. After a few seconds of just leaning forward against the rope, pulling it taut around her slender waist, she glanced over her shoulder at Roger, who was curled up like a tired puppy with his eyes closed again. It wasn't Roger; he wasn't very heavy, and she was usually as strong as he was. Their bulky winter coats couldn't possibly add too much weight. Maybe the bitter cold made her weaker than usual.

"Roger, I'm serious," she panted, swaying and almost losing her balance. "I can't move this thing."

"Whatever," he mumbled indifferently, sniffling and pulling his hood over his head while trying to get into a comfortable position. "Just stand there, then, 'til your time is up. I'll pull you in a few minutes."

April suddenly noted how tired Roger himself had looked, and a pang of guilt struck her in the stomach. She was being selfish. Roger was doing all the work today and it seemed she was in it just for the ride. Two people that loved each other needed to share things, whether they be good or bad things, and they had to do it because they wanted to, because they were thinking about the other person just as much as themselves, maybe even more.

Taking as deep a breath as she could in the icy air, she determinedly stomped a foot into the ground in front of her and leaned against the rope, using every ounce of energy she had left to try and move the sled as far as she could. She'd even be happy with a few centimeters, as long as the damn thing moved.

_"Mind over matter, mind over matter," _she chanted mentally to herself, so engrossed in trying to move the sled that she was just vaguely aware of the paralyzing pain swiftly growing in her lungs. Suddenly it felt like tree branches had swung from both sides and sandwiched her in between, shattering her rib cage and squeezing the air out of her lungs, and before she knew it she was slowly falling to her knees. Roger, who was gradually becoming aware of the desperate whining sound April was making, sat up just in time to see her collapse to a crumpled heap in the snow.

Becoming frightened at the noises emitting from her lax figure, he leapt up from the sled and darted over to her. She was curled up on her side, wheezing helplessly with her eyes squeezed shut. Roger clasped his arms around April when he saw tears of exhaustion starting to form at the corners of her eyes, and immediately he heaved her easily off the ground and pulled her a few feet over to lay her down in the sleigh. He pulled his own coat off and covered April with it like a blanket, tucking the sleeves underneath her so it wouldn't fall off. Then, without hesitation, he ran to the front of the sled and grabbed hold of the prickly, cheap rope attached to it. He began to pull.

He started off at a slow pace, glancing over his shoulder every once in a while to whisper reassurances to April and check to see if she had fallen off, but when she had passed out he was forced to quicken his stride. At first he pulled her along speedily and effortlessly, but after a while it became harder and harder to drag the sled over the bumpy terrain. He stumbled a couple of times, trying to keep a steady speed or at least go a little faster, and once tripped over his own enormous snow boots and got a mouthful of snow. But despite the hopeless tears he felt forming in his eyes he kept at it, powered on by his concern for April.

Finally he came to a stop, realizing to his dismay that it was beginning to snow. Hard. He recalled Collins warning them not to wander too far from the cabin because the weather channel said that a blizzard was approaching. Reluctantly he let the tears he had repressed since April had fainted flow freely, and through his blurry vision and the visual cacophony of flurries he could make out nothing but white. Wordlessly he pulled the sled a few more inches with a silent expression of defeat, but then he heard a shout not far in front of him. A new hope lit up in his mind, melting away the negative thoughts as he began to trudge forward through the deepening snow. The voice sounded again and he sped up, running, running faster and faster until...

He felt two arms wrap protectively around him, pulling him into a warm, heartfelt embrace. When he smelled that citrus perfume that always stunk up their apartment at home, Roger knew at once this was Maureen, and as much as he usually despised her presence, he was grateful to have her there for once. He felt Maureen forcing him inside, his head still in a deathgrip under her arm as he muttered April's name over and over again into Maureen's sweatshirt.

The next thing he knew he was sitting at the cabin's small wooden table, April sitting across from him and mulling tiredly over a mug of hot chocolate. Next to her mug sat an inhaler. Roger studied the unfamiliar object as Mark placed a cup of hot chocolate in front of him, and he thanked him, beginning to stir the boiling liquid with a spoon. Mark sat down silently beside Roger, a small bowl of popcorn balanced on his lap. "What happened?" Roger asked.

"Asthma attack," April said quickly, beginning to stir her hot cocoa as well; Maureen sat beside her, apparently over her bouts of nausea. "But I'm alright now."

"I was making you work too hard," Roger said shamefully. "Sledding was a stupid idea. I'm really sorry about that."

"No, I wanted to pull you," April said with a hint of cheer. "It was only fair, plus it was sort of fun. Besides, you pulled me all the way back here. That was very dedicated, especially since I wasn't very fair in barely moving the sled."

Roger tried to recall the happenings from earlier on, but all he could remember was snow seeping into his sweater, the extreme cold that resulted, but above all, the fear he felt for April. "Well, I was really scared. I didn't know what was happening to you."

April got up from her chair and sat next to Roger, beginning to run her hand through his hair, matted and damp with melted snow. "You're very sweet... and I really appreciate what you did for me. I'm not sure what I would have done had it been me in your situation. I don't think I'd have the strength to pull you all the way here. I'd probably sit there and cry like a little kid until someone came and found us." She paused, a smile vague on her lips. "But you never know... love can make people do amazing things."

She fixed her pale gaze on his face and smiled, and though the numbness in his body was dissipating, replaced by chills, April's smile alone seemed to warm him up almost instantly, better than any roaring fire or summer day could. He stared right back at her, and her smile was answered by a similar one formed on his own lips. After a while, April humorously added: "I think I have a new name for you... how's Balto sound?"

Roger opened his mouth to retaliate only to have it closed again when April pressed her lips to his, abandoning her seat at the table to climb into his lap, both of them deaf to Mark's screams of "Take this elsewhere, I'm trying to eat!"


End file.
